7 Gut Healthy Habits to Start Now
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With Thanksgiving wrapped up and Christmas and New Year’s on their way, you may already be feeling the indulgence of the holidays creeping in. So I’m sharing 7 gut healthy habits to start now!
I’m all for indulging a little bit each day, and the holidays are no exception! But, for me it’s important to stay healthy so I can feel good about indulging whenever the mood strikes. Whether that’s a little treat every day (like I do) or making sure I get to enjoy all the nostalgic foods I love during the holidays.
These 7 gut healthy habits to start now are lifestyle changes you can easily do each day. These tips will help heal your gut if it needs healing or they’ll help keep it healthy this holiday season! These are things I already do daily, so I wanted to share them with you! You can easily incorporate these 7 tips into your every day routine starting now.
Table of Contents
1. Lemon Water
Warm lemon water in the morning is great for your gut! Lemon water should be warm, not cold, and not hot. This helps the body absorb it better and it will help start the digestion process first thing in the morning. So it’s best to drink on an empty stomach before you have breakfast. I make my green tea with lemon and I drink it right before I eat breakfast.
2. Green Tea
Green tea is anti inflammatory. It can help reduce inflammation in the gut and has been shown to help promote good bacteria growth in your gut. The more good bacteria you have, the more healthy your gut is because it’s able to digest food easily. I drink decaf green tea as I usually don’t drink caffeine, but you can drink decaf or caffeinated green tea to reel the gut health benefits.
3. Probiotics
Probiotics can help improve your gut drastically. They are filled with good bacteria for your gut and can help increase the good bacteria while decreasing the bad, and help restore balance in your gut. They’re such an easy supplement to add into your daily routine. There’s so many different probiotics out there! Consult your doctor or naturopathic doctor for the best ones for you. But I really like the MegaSporeBiotic and these are what I'm taking daily right now.
4. Blueberries
Blueberries are a superfood that are packed with antioxidants! I have lots of info on blueberries in my article Health Benefits of Eating Blueberries. They’re the healthiest fruit for your gut!
Blueberries are a prebiotic, which means they’re great for gut health! Prebiotics are compounds that help stimulate activity in the gut to promote healthy bacteria and good gut health! Add blueberries to your breakfast each morning for a happy gut! I end my breakfast with a bowl of blueberries every day. If you can't find blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries are also good.
5. Cruciferous Vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables are a group of different vegetables that have major gut benefits! This group includes kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, watercress, and a few more. These veggies are all full of good fibers that feed the bacteria in your gut and improve the gut microbiome.
You can easily add cruciferous veggies to any holiday meal for extra health benefits! Add kale or cabbage to your salad, make my Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts with your holiday ham, or snack on raw broccoli with your charcuterie board! Adding these delicious veggies into your daily menu will make a huge improvement in your gut health!
6. Fermented Foods
Fermented foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, yogurt, apple cider vinegar, cottage cheese, kefir, and kombucha have major benefits for your gut! Fermented foods have probiotics, naturally. Therefore, they can help restore the balance of good bacteria in your gut and provide digestive support.
Easily add in fermented foods to salads, sandwiches, or even as a snack in between meals. I love adding sauerkraut to my salads and I eat kimchi by the fork full whenever we make Asian for dinner, which is often! I add apple cider vinegar to salad dressings and enjoy kombucha as snack mid day. Try yogurt with your breakfast to start your day with probiotics so you can feel good about eating your favorite foods for dinner or dessert.
7. Eat Anti Inflammatory Foods
Increasing foods that fight inflammation will help improve your gut microbiome. These foods include healthy fats, leafy green, and fruits and veggies. Some of my top picks are avocados, salmon, kale, blueberries, sweet potatoes, dark chocolate, broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and more! If you feel your gut health is suffering, increase your consumption of these foods. By doing this, you’ll automatically decrease your consumption of inflammatory foods as there simply is only so much room for food in your tummy. I think it was on a Huberman Lab podcast where one of his guests said something like, if you eat tons of veggies there’s just not room for much else! And that is very true!
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